Love is Layered
by KatrinaValmor
Summary: Tale as old as time indeed. There was collateral damage to the Queen's plan, dangerous collateral damage. The lives of everyone in Storybrooke are intertwined more than they realize. The truth is never easy dearie. Through hardships unnumbered...
1. Happy Ever After

**Love Is Layered**

**Author: Katrina (RumplesNewGirl)**

**Pairing: Rumpelstiltskin (Mr. Gold)/Belle (Linda French)**

**Synapsis: What if things had been different and Belle had stayed with Rumple, what would have happened to the curse and how would that have changed the ways to break the spell? **

**Chapter: 1/?**

**Rating: M**

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the OUAT characters or OUAT itself.

So this is my first RumBelle fic and hopefully you all will enjoy this. It deviates from the cannon quite a bit, but hopefully not too much as to be unrecognizable.

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><p>Light streamed in from the grand windows of the grand hall casting a cheery light all over the trinkets and the sparse furniture that decorated the room. Odd trinkets were put up on pedestals, each had a hidden meaning and purpose known by only a few select people and seen by even fewer. This grand hall had once been dark and dismal, inhabited by a trickster who was only focused on making deals, spinning at the wheel, and forgetting about his past. That changed one-day, one day when the nailed down curtains had been stripped away and a heroine had fallen into his arms.<p>

Rumpelstiltskin sat there at the head of the table smirking to himself thinking back over the last three years since Belle came into his life and how drastically things had changed. He closed his eyes for a brief moment thinking back to the early days, when he had still been so hard, so callous towards her.

"_Where are you taking me?" Belle asked with suspicion in her voice as she walked with him. He smirked at the trepidation in her voice and looked at her out of the corner of his eyes "Let's call it…your room." He could be devious when he wanted and at the moment he wanted to; he enjoyed toying with the girl. "My room?" There it was the hope in her voice, she may even think it might not be as bad as she once though, but it would be. "Well, it sounds a lot nicer than dungeon." As the door opened and he tossed her in he laughed with glee and locked the door behind him, this was going to be quite pleasant indeed. _

He opened his eyes, that hadn't been one of his finer moments, but now that they were past that and she had moved up to a much more grand room in his estate they would laugh about that moment from time to time. He sat up as he heard footfalls coming towards the hall and he let himself relax and smile, his crème tunic and simple breeches and boots allowing him to feel more free to be relaxed around her in his, no their, estate.

"There you are, I woke up and you were already gone, it was kind of disappointing." She pouted her bottom lip protruding just a little bit as she sat at the chair to the right of his, shifting a bit and making room for the small bundle in her arms. Rumple leaned over and pecked her cheek and then stroked the babe's forehead as he slept.

"I had some contracts to look over from recent deals I made. Now I will be able to spend the bulk of the day with my lovely wife and son." He let out a small giggle and sat back in his chair. Belle sighed looking at him as she sat back against the tall back of her chair and watched him. "Darling I wish you would stop making deals, they're getting more dangerous." Her large eyes stared at him with a pleading look, but the gaze was broken as the baby began to stir in her arms and she had to shift once again so she could nurse him, glancing up her brows furrowed as she caught Rumple staring at her. "He's such a lucky little thing isn't he?" A giggle escaped his lips and Belle gasped in indignation. "You say such scandalous things to me dear heart." His hand reached out to stroke her face, "You weren't complaining last night love." She felt a blush of crimson grow from her face down to her neck but didn't deny it.

Rumpelstiltskin watched his family knowing that any deal he made from thereon out would be in order to advance his wife and son, to ensure that they would be protected. It struck him that he had never wanted to protect someone so vehemently since his son; he quickly pushed that memory out of his mind making a mental note to use the afternoon to spin some more.

He was broken out of his reverie by Belle covering back up and then burping their son cooing and speaking quietly to him, glancing over to him and smiling softly. "Would you like to hold your son love? I should really be going to get dressed for the day." She smirked and watched as conflicted emotions crossed over his golden features. She saw him war with them even while he took the baby out of her arms and held him close. "I always love holding our son, but I really wish you wouldn't run off and get dressed so soon, we could wait for his nap perhaps and then I could….assist you with changing. I find that plan more agreeable, do we have a deal?" He asked a hint of mischief in his eyes as he rocked the baby admiring Belle's golden nightgown, admiring the plunging neckline. Her eyes widened, "Not in front of Damon Rumple, you're going to scar him for life." She laughed but made no move to get up.

Before she knew it Rumple had rocked Damon to sleep, the six month old baby content and safe in his father's arms, she stood up as Rumple, he seemed eager to put the baby to bed as quickly as possible, and as they walked up to the nursery he kept a hand pressed to the small of her back. "Eager Rumple?" She laughed as he set the baby down gently in the large basinet starting the golden mobile with a bit of magic and then he turned to her and she sobered her laugh quite quickly, the look in his eyes saying that he was not in the mood to be trifled with, there was a baser need he was more interested in. Walking swiftly over to her and picking her up over his shoulder as she protested playfully and he placed a firm swat on her bottom. "Uh uh dearie, no protesting, you were toying with me all through breakfast, and now I'm going to get to toy with you. A deal is a deal." He snickered and practically bound to the main bedroom.

The curtains were still closed and the room was pretty dark still, he flopped Belle down on the bed, the sheets still ruffled from their previous night's escapades. Belle giggled and looked up, her lips red and pouty waiting for him to devour, her body luscious and ripe for the taking, and take her he did, twice. The first time heated, almost animalistic. His hands were moving over her body touching her, possessing her. Her own hands didn't stay still; quite the contrary they pulled at him, tugging his hair as they kissed feverishly, and grabbing his hips as he thrust into her, her body submitting to his ministrations.

Her cries and pleas for him to move in her did nothing to calm him, but urged him on until they both came to their apex and fell over into orgasmic bliss. The second round of coupling was tenderer; they expressed their love for one another, their devotion. Belle laid her head on his chest after, her brown curls falling over him; she sighed most contented and closed her eyes. "I do so love our little deals Rumple, you always….rise to the occasion." He chuckled and stroked her hair as he closed his eyes hoping to get in a nap after the exhausting yet satisfying events that had just occurred. His hopes her dashed however at the sound of Damon screaming for his mother in the adjoining nursery. As he opened his eyes and saw Belle, wrapped in a sheet, making her way to their son he put his hands behind his head and a toothy, crooked grin came to his face. "Life is perfect." For that brief moment in time it was, but alas, even he knew the magic of love would have a high price to pay at some point, and little did they know that point would come soon enough.

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><p>What do ya'll think? I used to write fanfiction a while back, but I hadn't had the urge in years until OUAT came on the air, and the pairing of RumBelle is so attractive. This isn't the end, there are some definite twists away from the canon both in this chapter and coming up, but I think they'll work really well and you all will enjoy them. Read and Review please.<p>

Also I am looking for a beta reader if anyone is interested?


	2. The Visit

Love Is Layered

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or Once Upon A Time

Author: Katrina (RumplesNewGirl)

Pairing: Rumpelstiltskin (Mr. Gold)/Belle (Linda French)

Synapsis: What if things had been different and Belle had stayed with Rumple, what would have happened to the curse and how would that have changed the way to break the spell?

Chapter: 2/?

Rating: M

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><p>Silence. That is what he heard now; the sounds of laughter and his child crying for his attention was gone, had been for twenty eight years. Mr. Gold reclined in his high backed chair in the parlor of his rather cluttered home. The grand Victorian home that he had bargained for was exactly as he wanted it, all of his treasures he had accumulated in the Enchanted Forest sat on various shelves and cabinets all throughout the house. He sat there and nursed his scotch.<p>

It hadn't been a horrible day, not a fantastic one, but not entirely horrible. Actually, his ray of light for the day actually started well before dawn as he enacted revenge upon Moe French, Maurice, Belle's father, Damon's grandfather. Kidnapping hadn't been very hard; the oaf had fallen asleep in the recliner of his sparsely furnished, one bedroom apartment with a flimsy lock. Gold remembered seeing a few discarded beer cans around the chair as he approached from behind, the gun at his side. Moe had been startled and a little disoriented, but he quickly sobered up when he noticed the black glean off of the gun. Mr. Gold never did like guns too much, they were brutish and uncivilized, but his magic was restrained in this world and he really didn't have a choice.

Once Moe was secured in the back of his delivery van he drove out to the cottage on the edge of town, his anger and hatred for the man bound behind him was growing with every passing second. It seemed to take an eternity to reach the driveway of the cottage and then to get Moe into the cabin itself. Almost thirty years of anger came to a head as he beat this pathetic excuse of a man, of a father, of a grandfather. All he could think of then and all he could remember now was how Maurice was supposed to protect Belle in his absence, how Maurice was supposed to take care of his family when he couldn't, and he failed and for that he would finally pay. The missing cup was the last straw and the restraint Mr. Gold kept up for twenty eight years vanished. Emma had stopped him before any real damage could be caused; such a pity.

The night in the jail was restless, he had a feeling it wasn't over, and he was right. As if on cue the next morning, Regina walked in with young Henry. For a moment Mr. Gold looked at Henry and could imagine young Damon at that age, but the vision was gone in an instant as he looked in Regina's eyes and the twinkle of triumph. His drive to get the chipped cup back was more than the desire to keep his knowledge of his past life a secret, and so he told her. He didn't see any harm in letting her know; besides he still held the real power. It only took another four hours after that to persuade a judge to let him go and the return of a delivery truck to get the charges dropped completely. He then limped slowly back to his home, with Belle's cup.

This new house of his, in this new and strange world, was dark and dreary. He remembers his castle being like this before Belle came; cluttered but empty. This was his own personal hell and he would continue in this particular one until the curse was broken by the savior. 'And then I'll be back in another hell', he thought wryly to himself as he set down the drink. Glancing over to the clock he noticed it was well past midnight. He grabbed his cane and used it to help lift him off of the chair, limping gingerly up the steps and to the master bedroom at the end of the hall. He didn't need lights on; he knew every inch of the house. He went through the mundane task of getting ready for bed and then finally lay down on his back, his hands above and behind his head, his leg propped up on a pillow. He stared up at the ceiling, his nightly ritual of remembering already beginning in his head.

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><p>Belle swept back into the master bedroom with the baby, both of them now dressed. Belle wore a simple red gown that remained tight from her chest to her waist and then fluted out at the bottom. The baby was wrapped up in fresh blankets of blues and gold. Rumpelstilskin had taken the opportunity to get up and ready himself, using a bit of magic to change into a fresh pair of leather breeches and a billowing red shirt to match Belle's dress.<p>

"Ah, there are my two loves." At the sound of his father's voice little Damon cooed and squirmed in his mother's arms, a little upset that she was not giving him a good view of his father. Rumpelstilskin laughed and reached out to take the baby from Belle's arms. "He is such a little traitor, the moment he hears you, you're all he can think about." She tried to look upset, but she couldn't help the smirk that formed on her face."I am quite the attention getter though aren't I?" He looked at her pointedly and she turned a little crimson thinking about the attentions she received from him earlier. "Yes quite."

Rumpelstilskin turned towards the window and walked towards it letting the light from the summer sun hit on his face and he sighed. "Belle, it looks like it is going to be a pleasant day, perhaps we can take a picnic out on the grounds." Belle moved behind him and wrapped her arms slowly around his waist, peaking over the side of his arms to stare at the now contented baby. "That does sound lovely and wonderful, but don't you have deals to attend to? I know some are very important." Her brown eyes gazed up curious and yet hopeful he would say that he didn't. He let out a small giggle and rocked the baby back and forth with ease. "Well of course I do dearie, but I can bring my paperwork outside. I would hate to miss time with my family." He looked down at Damon who was now making soft snoring sounds in his arms.

A few hours later the small family sat on a blanket, surrounded by green lush grass. The land was vast behind the estate and stretched out towards a forest and stream, it was heaven to Belle as she reclined back and looked up at the clouds that wafted through the sky. "Do you ever regret it dearie?" She glanced over, shaken out of her reverie. "Regret what Rumple?" Her brow furrowed wondering why he would ask such a ridiculous question. "Well when you came here you went on and on about being brave and such, which you have done so beautifully; but you also talked about seeing the world, and you haven't been out of the castle walls that much." He glanced over with his eyes as Belle sat up from her reclined position, careful not to disturb the baby who was lying between them on the blanket. "Rumpelstilskin how could you ask such a thing? I regret nothing of my life, in fact it is perfect. I don't want to go off and see the world; I want to be here with you and my family." She moved her hand to his face then and turned it so he was staring at her, her eyes blazing with sincerity.

"Well dearie, it was just a question." He smirked slightly and then pecked her on the lips. As Belle moved to deepen the kiss there was a clearing of a throat behind them. Rumple's hand clenched onto the quill in his hand a moment before breaking away with Belle, hating to be interrupted. Belle glanced behind her and smiled widely, "Jeanna! You've come to visit finally." Belle stood up and bound over to her sister as Rumple stared back at her, his lips pierced. Although his wife loved her half sister and tried not to see the bad things she did to others, he knew all too well; the Evil Queen was not to be trusted.

The half sisters hugged and Jeanna nodded. "Of course I did, I wanted to see my nephew and…well for lack of a better word, brother-in-law." Jeanna looked at the Dark One pointedly, never understanding why her sister would marry someone like Rumpelstilskin let alone create a life with him. Belle, by this time, had scooped the baby up in her arms carefully; "He is sleeping now, but you can hold him if you like" Jeanna carefully took the baby from Belle and held it close to her, a smile forming on her lips. She closed her eyes and remembered a time when she held a son like this in her arms, the weight of the child brought back memories she kept buried inside of her. Rumple cleared his throat, not liking how close Jeanna was to his child, he stood up. "What can we do for you today, your majesty?" He asked with a flourish and sweeping bow which only made Belle roll her eyes and Jeanna let out a low chuckle.

"I caught a bluebird this morning while I was out for a ride." She cocked her head to the side and rocked the baby a bit. "Well isn't that fascinating, truly fascinating. What does that have to do with us?" He sneered getting closer to her, but his eyes never left his son. "Well, it was coming here to deliver a message for you; one from Cinderella." She looked at him pointedly. "She wants to renegotiate her contract with you, said something about some added benefit." Belle looked confused as Jeanna handed the baby back to her softly and Rumple let out of a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Jeanna stepped closer to him, "If anything goes wrong with that deal Rumple I will hold you responsible, I want that baby."

Belle shook her head and looked between them. "You two should not have ever made such a deal. What if she wants to keep her child, what if that was me Rumple and someone wanted to take our baby?" Rumpelstilskin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It will be alright dearie, I've spoken to both her and the prince and they don't want the baby. Besides, wouldn't you want to have a new niece or nephew?" He looked over to her and she sighed knowing he was going to go through with it regardless.

"Alright Jeanna, I will go and make sure that everything is alright with the deal and ensure that your precious package will be delivered on time." He bowed with a flourish and then strode over to kiss Belle and Damon. "I'll go now and with any luck be home early in the morning love." Belle nodded and hugged him, "I shall miss you every moment." He smiled and with another kiss walked back towards the estate.

Mr. Gold closed his eyes a single tear running down towards his pillow. If he had known that it was all a trap, if he had known what kind of danger Belle was in from her own sister he never would have left. He should have known that that careless monster had no heart or soul; she would do anything to hurt him because of what he had done to her, regardless of what collateral damage was accumulated. Now all he had was an empty heart and a chipped cup.

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><p>Hope you all liked it! I have to thank my awesome beta reader EarthGuardian, you are awesome! Please read and review.<p> 


	3. A Twisted Web

**Love is Layered **

**Chapter 3**

**Hey its been awhile since I updated, sincerest apologies. Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I have a few twists and turns I'd like to explore on this journey and can not wait to share them with you! Just finished up Spring Break so hopefully I'll be updating a little more frequently now that the dreaded midterms are complete. **

**I would love to thank my awesome beta EarthGuardian. I can only promise that this is going to be a bumpy ride for our favorite couple. **

**Still don't own anything as far as the characters from OUAT (although I wouldn't mind a piece of Mr. Gold) Please read and review and enjoy! **

Regina sat back in her office chair, the lights dim and the curtains behind her drawn shut; not that they needed to be no one in Storybrooke would be out at this hour. Glancing at the clock she noticed it was already 1:05 in the morning. Sleep wouldn't be coming for her this night, it barely ever did anymore. Not much could disturb Regina anymore, she had seen and done it all; from ripping out her father's heart to enacting the most horrible curse any world had ever seen, and yet, there was one thing that she did regret, what she did to her sister. Regina closed her eyes, the visit to the hospital had been necessary if not long overdue. She had gone right after meeting with that trickster; she had needed reassurance that her ace in the hole was still there, even though she would have known the second something went amiss with Belle, her guards made sure she was updated on her condition twice a day.

She was still fuming over being duped by Rumpelstilskin, it was her fault really, but right now she wanted to exert all her loathing and hatred at him for tricking her into enacting the curse with a clause that gave him too much power over her. Regina sighed at that moment remembering his descent into madness as he sat in the cell deep in the dwarf mines, all alone. It had been slow at first, but she had given him a little extra push to seal the deal.

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><p>It had been a month since he had been captured, since he had walked out of his castle and into the trap that had been laid before him. She had sent her spies down into the caverns to keep an eye on the imp, watched him as his sanity slowly chipped away. She had visited him quite early on into his capture; he had only talked of Belle and their child, asking for her to bring them down to see him. She had abruptly stopped his babbling by spinning a horrid tale about the death of his beloved Belle and their son at the hands of Snow White and Prince Charming. She had to hold back a smirk as she saw his sanity slip away, she left him there as he straddled the bars and screamed obscenities at her, swearing revenge, swearing the death of those responsible. As she transported back to her palace and made her way to the tower she felt a twinge of regret. Peering in through the grate she saw her sister lying in the bed deep in sleep, a simple sleeping spell keeping her unaware. The queen closed her eyes for a moment and pushed aside the regret walking down to the elaborate nursery set up for Damon.<p>

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><p>Regina contemplated her next move, knowing it would have to be made quickly and efficiently if her plan was going to go off without a hitch. No doubt Mr. Gold was out of jail and in his own home stewing with his memories and his chipped cup. Regina stood, grabbing her coat and purse and heading to the door; she knew what she had to do and she would do it in the morning. Right now all she wanted to do was go home and check up on Henry to make sure he was in bed sleeping and not up reading that bothersome book.<p>

The next morning Mr. Gold went into his shop at the usual time, parking his car in the side alley and going through the back door. For all the money and power he had in this world, it was never necessary for him to go to shop; however, he had many peculiar things in there, things that allowed him to remember details of the past world, a world he didn't care if he went back to or not. Either way he was in a prison, either a cell below the ground or in this town, unable to leave and see the world, unable to control his magic. He walked to his desk; it was right behind the counter that faced the door, that way he could keep an eye on everything and everyone in the store as well as those passing by on the street. He let his cane rest against the edge of the desk and set to work on some contracts, no matter which world he found himself in, people were always looking to make a deal, not caring or thinking about the price.

However, Mr. Gold would never expect the next person to enter his shop would ever want to make a deal with him again, or ever be within twenty feet of him again. Not twenty minutes after he opened up the shop, Mr. Moe French walked in, looking a little nervous as he opened the door and moved into the shop slowly. "Mr… Mr. Gold?" Rumpelstilskin looked up at the man a sort of maniacal glee in his eyes, suppressing the imp was easier now, but Mr. Gold almost had the urge to let the maniac out and finish what he started. "Mr. French, to what do I owe this unexpected….pleasure?" Mr. Gold picked up his cane and walked around from behind the counter, standing up as straight as he could. "Well, you, uh, you see Mr. Gold, I am having some financial problems and I need a loan, I didn't know who else I could turn to, I need five thousand dollars Mr. Gold." By this time Mr. Gold had thought this was a joke or a set up; perhaps the Sheriff was setting him up to see if he would beat the man again. Moe did look awful, his neck was in a soft collar, his arm in a sling, and his face had a large bruise on the right cheek. "Now Mr. French, I don't think we have any more business to attend to. I gave you your truck back and you dropped the charges, I believe we are both paid in full." Mr. Gold raised his right eyebrow and leaned back on one of the display cases as Mr. French fidgeted with his hat which had found its way from his head to his hands.

"Mr. Gold, I have no one else, the funds for my daughter's care were cut this morning and she will be thrown out of the facility if I don't come up with five thousand dollars." He sputtered, talking almost too fast to be understood, but Mr. Gold heard him, but surely he heard him wrong. "Your daughter? Your daughter is dead Mr. French and so is this conversation." His words were more hissed than spoken and he had shot up from his relaxed position, moving surprisingly fast to stand almost toe to toe with Moe French. To Moe's credit he did look confused, more so than usual. "My daughter was a juvenile delinquent Mr. Gold, bonafide crazy, Dr. Whale calls it deranged, she's been in the system since she was young, and Ms. Mills was kind enough to set her up in a facility to help her through her problems. Her generosity ran out, however, and I need the money to keep her there, I don't know what to do with her if they let her out." Moe looked almost desperate as he talked and Mr. Gold's anger was rising minute by minute.

His mind spun and he felt as if he had been punched in the stomach so hard he didn't know if he would ever breathe again. But, breathe he must, he must to get Belle out of whatever hell hole Regina felt fit to put her in, whatever place Moe had left her in. The desire to pummel Moe was only outweighed by that of strangling Regina. Grabbing Moe by the collar of his shirt the older man startled forward gasping at the quickness of Mr. Gold's movements. "Where is she Moe, I'll only ask once and I want the right answer." "She, she is in the hospital, Regina said she's in the special wing I….I don't know where though." Mr. Gold pushed Moe back and started for the door, "She is no longer your concern as of this moment Mr. French, don't you ever darken my doorstep again or I will finish what I started."

He limped to his car his mind going a million miles a minute, the insanity banging to get out, to be let free to destroy Regina, Charming, Snow, and anyone else that had a hand in this atrocity committed against him and his family. He hesitated for just a minute thinking that if Belle was locked up all this time, then his son, their son must be somewhere. Where would Regina have put their son, perhaps an orphanage? He would look after he made sure Bell was safe and in his care. He sped off towards the hospital, being the chairman of the board had its privileges and he planned to use each and every one of them. Whatever they did to Belle had better not be irreversible. Regina sat behind the steering wheel of her vintage Mercedes her lips pursed in satisfaction as she watched Mr. Gold's Jaguar speed off to the hospital. "Check mate Rumple." Her eyebrow raised and she took off towards the elementary school, there was a twinge of satisfaction knowing her sister would get to see the light of day again, and she knew that above all else she was safe with Mr. Gold. Regina thought this might be a good opportunity to take Henry out for a lunch, there would be an explosion in Storybrooke later that she didn't want Henry anywhere around.

Mr. Gold pulled up in front of the hospital parking in the loading zone and making his way as fast as he could into the hospital, immediately calling for Dr. Whale to be brought to him. His Bell was alive, his wife, the mother of his child, she was alive and he hadn't protected her from whatever atrocity was being committed on her in this facility. Dr. Whale wasn't a man that was usually intimidated, but in the face of an angry and demanding Mr. Gold, he was definitely more likely to cooperate with whatever this man wanted, and if he wanted into the secret facility underground, then he would be more than happy to show him down there. Mr. Gold was silent on the way down to the basement, past the nurse's station and down the hallway. "You will get a private room upstairs ready for her and then call in Dr. Hopper to evaluate her, after this you have some explaining to do to me, do you understand Dr. Whale?" Dr. Whale looked back at him and nodded as the door swung open and light flooded into the usually dark room. There she was, hidden in the shadows, curled up on the poor excuse for a bed; Mr. Gold stepped in and gazed at her for the first time in almost thirty years.


End file.
